A glimpse inside Hillsdale College's network of classical schools across the country.
The Class of 2020, at an outdoor graduation on the campus of Founders Classical Academy of Leander. All photos courtesy Nickell Photography. One of my favorite things about school is studying the character of a class. In some fundamental sense, all 4th graders are the same, and all 8th graders are the same, and all… Continue reading Dr. O’Toole’s Speech at Founders Classical Academy of Leander’s 4th Annual Commencement
Yesterday I got to see the first cut of the video we filmed at Founders Classical Academy of Leander back in May, just before school finished. The short film will be available on the Founders Classical Academy website, and the full version will be used by Hillsdale College to explain the work of the Barney… Continue reading Preview of Hillsdale’s New K-12 Education Video, featuring Founders Classical Academy of Leander
This year our head boys and head girls of the six houses came together to organize our first prom. We've always said that if we going to do something, we should do it well, and this event was worth waiting for. The students used Roberts Rules of Order to conduct their meetings, divided into committees,… Continue reading Pictures from Prom 2019
Last week was our chance to say goodbye to the class of 2019. In the coming days I'll be publishing the words our Valedictorian and Salutatorian spoke at graduation (they did beautifully), but in the meantime I thought you'd like to see how we celebrated these extraordinary students in their final days at Founders. Throughout… Continue reading How We Spent the Seniors’ Last Week at School
What is it about middle schoolers? This spring we had our first-ever dance just for 6th-8th grades, and it was about as much fun as I've ever had at a school dance. Thanks to the enthusiasm our high schoolers from the House of Euclid, the middle school students had an amazing time. The big kids… Continue reading Photos from Our Middle School Dance
Mary C. and Trevor S., two members of the high school string ensemble. After making an appearance at grammar school assembly this morning to entertain our Kindergarten-5th grade students, Mr. Stiglich's high school string ensemble held a little concert for the front office. The acoustics in the foyer are beautiful, and as they performed a… Continue reading Playing Bach in the Foyer
Something amazing happened today. I've been locked in my office in meetings all week, and this afternoon I had 20 minutes free, so I wandered out to the playground with my camera to enjoy the sunlight and talk to our grammar school students. Almost immediately one of our second graders came up to me to… Continue reading 2nd Grade Recites the Declaration of Independence at Recess
Dear Founders families, I am pleased to tell you I have been offered a position at Hillsdale College leading the efforts of the Barney Charter School Initiative and the College’s other programs in K-12 education. I have decided to accept that position, and that means that this will be my last year at Founders Classical… Continue reading Dr. O’Toole’s New Position
Every year in February, we travel to the frozen north for the Hillsdale College Classical Schools Job Fair. This year there were dozens of classical schools in attendance--both private Christian schools and charter schools--from all across the country. After a day-long conference with our fellow Headmasters in the Barney Charter School Initiative, Ms. Loy and… Continue reading How We Hire Classical Teachers
The Classical Classroom 